Replies

1. 
   daryl | May 04, 2006 10:24pm | #1

   I have the 12" felder, and it is a great unit. The Hammer is fine, if that is in your price range. The biggest lack the old Hammer had was no fine adjustment of the knives, where the Felder has, on the 12", 5 adjustment bolts per knife. However, Strother Purdy had the 12" Hammer, and if I did work 1/10 as well, I would be proud.

   I would always opt for the biggest jointer I could fit/afford.

2. 
   Napie | May 04, 2006 10:40pm | #2

   I can vouch for the Robland, great machine.  I'd take a J/P combo over separate machines any time, (unless I could afford a shop full of Northfield iron!).  The horizontal morticer is the best bang for the buck. 

3. 
   JMartinsky | May 04, 2006 11:06pm | #3

   Combo

   John

4. 
   AntzyClancy | May 05, 2006 12:04am | #4

   That is a hard question.  A Jet or Delta cannot beat the quality of the combo tools you listed.  However if space is not and issue, I would have to think hard about the tradeoff in convenience of having two separate machines.

   Maybe this will help:

   The DJ20 gets good reviews, but the community of combo machine users is small in comparison, so most DJ20 users have only small 6", and other 8" jointer to compare it to.

   Jointing beyond 8" is rare, but will occur from time to time.  It depends on your work.

   I have never heard of the combos going out of alignment when switching over.  I would question the validity of that statement.

   Are Tersa cutter heads available on Delta's?  This is a very worthwhile upgrade available on most combos.  You can change knives like you are changing your shoes.

   I have a MiniMax and love it.  I have a small shop, so the decision was easy.

   Todd

    

5. 
   BOBABEUI | May 05, 2006 12:18am | #5

   Hi,

   I had a Delta 15 inch planer and a 6 inch Powermatic jointer, which I sold after I bought my Mini-max j/p combo. The seperate machines were nice, but I don't miss them one bit. I mean a Tersa cutter head, digital height indicator (on the planer), 16 inchs of jointing or planing capacity and 4.8 horse power, what was to miss..I can only vouch for Mini-max (and Felder), the machine does not go out of alignment.

   Good luck on your purchase.

6. 
   JohnWW | May 05, 2006 02:46am | #6

   The changeover from jointer to planer on any of the combo machines only involves moving blade covers and dust collecting hoods.   The basic alignment of the jointer tables and the planer table aren't affected or adjusted so your worry isn't justified.

   John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine

   P.S.  If you read further down, you will find that I am mistaken in this, some machines do require that you swing the jointer tables out of the way.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 5/5/2006 7:38 pm ET by JohnWW

1. 
   SteveSchoene | May 06, 2006 12:43am | #13

   On my Hammer 16" J/P, and on the others I have seen, you do have lift the jointer tables in order to change the dust hood.  They do move.  That said, I have not noticed alignment problems as a result, since there are positive stops, and clamps, when the tables are returned to the jointing position. 

    

1. 
   JohnWW | May 06, 2006 02:35am | #14

   I stand corrected,  I had forgotten that some machines, especially the larger ones, do require that you swing the tables up to use the planer.

   John W.

7. 
   Rcohen81 | May 05, 2006 05:41am | #7

   Thanks! I'm glad changeover does not effect alignment, because I am really beginning to like the combo idea. I just got a quote on the Hammer A31 12 inch combo of $3600, including shipping and mobile base. This price is less than I thought and almost the same as the rojek. Anyone compare the rojek 315 (not the 310, which the dealer talked me out of) and hammer directly? I'm leaning towards the hammer, because it has a quick change blade system, similar to the one on the felder (which is over 6 grand and way out of my price range). Also, for what it's worth, the hammer rep (Mac from Wisconsin), said the fit and finish on the hammer is superior to that on the rojek. The rojek dealer, incidentally, was not particulary fond of the robland. I'd appreciate any further comments.

1. 
   stephengaal | May 05, 2006 07:13pm | #9

   I have had a Robland X-31 for four years. I think you get what you pay more. In this case it was about $5500 for a 12" jointer, 12" planer, 3 HP table saw with sliding table, 3 HP shaper and a horizontal mortising machine. If I wanted to spend a lot more I would go with a Knapp with a 16" jointer planer.The 12" jointer is great. Switch time from jointing to planing is about 15 seconds. The sliding table was the original reason I went with this and find it useful but not as useful as expected. I don't do much with sheet goods and a crosscut sled would probably have worked as well. I have never, repeat never, used the shaper. I just think of it as a spare 3 HP motor. I used the horizontal mortiser all the time until I got a Woodrat which is superb for mortise and tenon work and dovetails. The unit is compact which is helpful. I also have only one dust collection hose to the unit with a quick connect to move it from jointer/planer to table saw.The early experience with Laguna Tools, the US distributor for the X-31, on this one was a little rough. There is an active users group that has gone so far as to have someone design and make-up jigs to align the sliding table. Once you get it set up, it stays set up. There are often used units available and significant savings. It is a heavy unit at 1200-1300 pounds, so shipment and delivery can be an issue. The shipper wanted to deliver mine at the curb. I had it delivered to a moving companya nd paid an additional $250 to have it moved to my shop. If money is harder to come by than time, you can disassemble it into smaller more manageable pieces but then you are going to have to realign everything.I also have a Laguna Tools 16HD bandsaw, which is superb. I believe customer support at Laguna has gotten much better, although I have had no reason to use it for at least 3 years.See: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RoblandX-31/Best wishesStephen J. Gaal

    

    

1. 
   Napie | May 05, 2006 08:19pm | #10

   I am very curious as to your statement that the Woodrat is better than the horizontal mortiser, I’d love to hear why.<!----><!----><!---->

1. 
   stephengaal | May 05, 2006 08:53pm | #11

   Ah, the Woodrat.  Where do I begin?  The Woodrat is, in essence, a vertical mortiser, with very fine contol, clear view of what you are doing, easy options for repeatability.  It does the tenons as well as the mortises and the fit is perfect every time. And it does dovetails, any spacing you want, that look like period hand-cut dovetails.  You feel that you are in complete control of evrything.  It's the best $500-600 I have ever spent.

    

   There is also a Woodrat forum.

    

   See:  http://www.woodrat.com/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi

    

   e-mail me off-line at [email protected] if you want to speak by phone about it.

    Stephen J. Gaal

    

    

2. 
   AntzyClancy | May 05, 2006 10:09pm | #12

   I would take the Hammer over the Rojek, any day.

   Todd

8. 
   Lataxe | May 05, 2006 03:24pm | #8

   G,

   I posted some Web links to combo planer-thicknesser machines in thread 7000.56.  These are mostly European machines but many cost far less dollars than the Felders and similar.

   Personally I use a 10 inch capacity Scheppach HMS260 and have done for over 6 years.  It has planed and thicknessed thousands of feet, 95% of which were hardwoods including some VERY hard woods (iroko, aformosia, teak and so forth).  10 inch capacity is a good compromise as I only ever once remember having 12 inch planks to deal with.  (A friend with a larger machine did them for me).

   Most of the machines of this standard have circa 3 HP or more induction motors and 2 or 3 re-sharpenable knives of HSS.

   The Scheppach (and others of its ilk that I have seen working at friends' workshops) produce very good surfaces with accurate dimensions, with only basic maintenance such as knife sharpening etc. required.  The machine has had some Big Planks smacked down on it in its time but has never gone out of true. (And I do check from time to time, with straight edge and dial gauge).

   Unless you are going to use your machine 8 hours a day every working day (ie commercially) one of the lesser-cost (£500 - £1600) planer-thicknessers will be more than adequate, if my experience with the Scheppach is anything to go by.  As a price example, the HMS 260 is around £800, inclusive of a 17.5% sales tax, here in the UK.  There are many other brands in this price bracket.

   I don't know how easy it would be to import or otherwise obtain one in the USA.

   Lataxe

9. 
   vcrccfcgri | May 18, 2013 08:02am | #15

   Great Job on Site!
   I am just commenting to make you know of the fabulous encounter my wife’s daughter gained using your webblog. She picked up plenty of pieces, with the inclusion of what it’s like to have an amazing coaching style to make men and women completely know precisely several complex subject matter. You truly exceeded our own desires. Thanks for delivering those beneficial, healthy, educational and even fun tips about this topic to Sandra.

10. 
    vcrccfcgri | May 18, 2013 08:02am | #16

    Great Job on Site!
    I am just commenting to make you know of the fabulous encounter my wife’s daughter gained using your webblog. She picked up plenty of pieces, with the inclusion of what it’s like to have an amazing coaching style to make men and women completely know precisely several complex subject matter. You truly exceeded our own desires. Thanks for delivering those beneficial, healthy, educational and even fun tips about this topic to Sandra.